Who says: "I am extremely proud of our country's public services and of the talented people who work in them"? Give up? It's David Cameron, in a very welcome endorsement of this year's Guardian Public Services Awards, now open for entries.

It's the kind of sentiment we don't hear anything like enough of from the government. As the prime minister this week made yet another attempt to breathe life into the concept of the "big society", public sector workers will have been forgiven for thinking they are seen as little more than a replaceable cost line on the exchequer spreadsheet.

That certainly seems to be the message getting through. According to research published today, barely half of all public sector employees expect to stay in the sector in the foreseeable future. The rest, some 45%, say they are either facing redundancy or looking to move out. Such startling figures pose serious questions about the quality of our public services in the immediate future. To quote Hays, the recruitment group that carried out the research: "With such a widespread exodus of staff, it is highly likely that frontline services will be affected." Many of those who stay, it adds, will feel "demotivated and devalued".

Hays, which sponsors the Guardian awards, surveyed more than 1,000 workers and 600 employers. And its findings are supported by separate research this week from another recruitment consultancy, Badenoch & Clark, which also surveyed 1,000 public sector staff and found that while 61% hoped to stay in the sector, only 41% felt certain they would do so.

So it appears that the public services are indeed facing a major morale problem. But should we be surprised? Quite apart from the mood music coming from politicians, their actions tell the story very graphically: 490,000 public sector jobs to go between 2010 and 2015, according to official forecasts, with 132,000 already culled before the new financial year at a rate twice the level that had been expected. Ministers may accept there can be "no return to wholesale outsourcing" on a 1990s scale, to quote the leaked CBI account of a meeting about the much-delayed public services white paper, but they seem to be making good headway without it.

What can be done? Plainly there is an urgent need to make the public sector a more attractive place to stay – and to move to. For while it will be imperative to retain talented staff, it will equally be necessary to recruit others to fill skills gaps.

Already, there are signs of what Hays calls a "stigma" starting to develop around public sector careers. Its research found that 18% of employers had found it harder to attract skilled job candidates since the comprehensive spending review last October. As many as 83% of employers thought that perceived lack of job security was deterring candidates from looking at the public sector.

Hays argues, and is surely right, that employers must do what they can to counter the enveloping negativity. This means reviewing their "brand", emphasising particularly the ethos of public service, which despite everything remains enormously powerful, and refreshing what they offer workers by way of training and career development.

"The main reason people come to work in the public sector is the desire to make a difference to society," says Andy Robling, Hays's public services director. "Employers have to make sure they are showing how important the roles are if they want to attract and retain staff."

There is still time. According to Badenoch & Clark's research, many worried and unsettled public sector workers are nevertheless awaiting further developments before jumping ship. Just 26% say they are actively seeking a move. If employers act now, the brightest and best could yet be persuaded to stay.